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What does it take to be a hero

It's a universal archetype that dominates the human consciousness and occupies an emotional space many brands aspire to. But taking on the Hero role demands a very different approach in different markets. We present the essential playbook for would-be Heroes.

What does it take to be a hero

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What does it take to be a Hero?

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What does it take to be a Hero?
It’s one of the most recognisable of
humanity’s universal archetypes – and
occupies an emotional space that many
brands aspire to. But taking on the Hero
role requires a very different approach
depending on the market you are
operating in.

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What does it take to be a Hero?
They are the universal themes that dominate human
consciousness everywhere on earth: the lens through
which we understand ourselves and the other people
that we encounter. From the Lover to the Ruler,
the Caregiver and the Sage, archetypes are hugely
important to our sense of identity and the way that
we interpret our motivations, emotions and behaviour.
Any individual is likely to identify aspects of most if
not all of them, within themselves, at some point in
their life. And as a result they are hugely important
to brands attempting to connect to audiences on a
deeper psychological level.
Archetypes are idealised concepts of behaviour and
personality that resonate across every culture on earth
because they map closely to particular emotional
need-states. Through our NeedScope psychological
framework for understanding emotion, TNS is able
to reveal the deeper emotional needs that each
archetype corresponds to – and therefore reveal
the most powerful and effective roles that they can
play for brands. However, our understanding of
the nuances of different cultural contexts provides
another form of insight that is just as important to
brands’ understanding of the archetypes they use.
Anjali Puri
Head of Centre of Excellence,
TNS Qualitative
Irene Hubertz
Global Director of Brand Strategy,
TNS
Archetypes may be universal but the way that they
are expressed and the form they take can vary
dramatically between different markets. Identifying
the characteristics of your chosen archetype in
the culture you are targeting is crucial if the brand
strategies built around them are to succeed.
Identifying the characteristics
of your chosen archetype in
the culture you are targeting
is crucial if the brand
strategies built around them
are to succeed.

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What does it take to be a Hero?
In this feature, we are looking in detail at one particular
archetype that both people and brands commonly
aspire to. The Hero is an embodiment of boldness,
dynamism and independence. He or she is frequently
imagined as forthright, assertive and self-assured as
well. These are hugely attractive characteristics for many
brands to associate themselves with – and yet the Hero
archetype also holds some of the greatest challenges
for marketers seeking to forge deeper emotional
connections across a range of different markets.
This hugely charismatic archetype changes significantly,
even between countries that share similar cultural
backgrounds – or which brands might expect to
aspire to similar things. Understood at a local level, the
Hero can lead marketers towards relevant, resonant
emotional connections, but if they fail to adapt to his or
her different characteristics, brands can be left with an
identity that few recognise – or feel inspired to follow.
The Hero archetype holds some of the greatest
challenges for marketers seeking to forge
deeper emotional connections across a range of
different markets.
The Hero archetype holds some of the greatest challenges for marketers seeking
to forge deeper emotional connections across a range of different markets.

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What does it take to be a Hero?
The US versus the UK: Stalwart and
straightforward or mixed-up and on a mission?
They share a language, a common cultural history
and a frequently aligned global agenda. They watch
many of the same heroes battling bad guys on the
cinema and TV screen – and so it would be natural to
expect the embodiment of the Hero archetype to run
along similar lines in the US and UK. In reality though,
there are distinct differences between the two that
are highly significant for brands attempting to appeal
across both markets.
“My heroes have always been cowboys,” as the old
Willie Nelson lyric goes – and it’s a line that holds true
where the USA’s instinctive interpretation of the Hero
archetype is concerned. The culture has distilled a
pioneer spirit of honest hard work, big dreams and
physical toughness into a Hero expression that is
stalwart and straightforward but has little room for
moral ambiguity or personal weakness.
Today’s American heroes are selfless and altruistic,
trusted protectors in a culture where trust can feel
in short supply, and personified powerfully by the
firemen dashing into burning buildings on 9/11.
In the fictional world, they often wear masks or
come equipped with secret identities that enable
them to play the everyman role whilst still wielding
comforting powers for the protection of the country.
However, when the Hero archetype is applied to
real-world characters, a tension emerges. America
has so many ‘one-shot’ heroes, because failure
either in moral standards or personal prowess rapidly
punctures the ideal. From Amelia Earhardt to Lance
Armstrong, David Petraeus to Bill Clinton, exposed
weaknesses and demise quickly follow a rapid rise
to fame and fortune.

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What does it take to be a Hero?
This attitude to weakness most clearly encapsulates
the difference between the Hero archetype in the US
and UK. In the land of one-armed, one-eyed Admiral
Nelson, ageing Steven Redgrave or doubt-laden Andy
Murray, weakness and flaws aren’t a detraction from
the Hero archetype, they are essential aspects of it.
A true Hero cannot arise unless he or she has
profound weaknesses to overcome; and the force
that enables him or her to overcome them isn’t an
inherent personal quality, but an overriding sense
of mission that can lift people above themselves.
In a society famously rooted in class structure,
the Hero role can be played by anyone, from any
background, in their own distinctive and potentially
rebellious style – provided they have this sense of
mission to give them integrity. British Heroes don’t
even have to win in the end. From Sir Robert Scott
to George Mallory to Eddie ‘The Eagle’ Edwards,
failure (sometimes tragic, sometimes comic) can
immortalise a Hero more powerfully than success.
For brands, a failure to distinguish carefully between
the US and UK versions of the archetype can mean
falling short of the Hero archetype in one market, or
appearing crass, inhuman and superficial in another.
For all their apparent similarities, heroic aspiration in
these two countries runs along very different lines.
For the British, failure (sometimes tragic, sometimes
comic) can immortalise a Hero more powerfully
than success.
US firemen (top), Vivienne Westwood (bottom)

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What does it take to be a Hero?
France versus Germany: Sensual rebellion or
honed bodies and minds
They share a geographic position and political
partnership at the heart of Europe, yet they also
represent the line where Latin and Germanic cultural
traditions meet, and the tension between the two
countries was the destructive driver of the first half
of the 20th century. Today, it’s essential for any brand
operating across Europe to understand the reasons for
the very different expression of the Hero archetype in
France and Germany.
The French expression of the Hero is the heir to a
loud and proud anti-establishment tradition dating
back to the French Revolution, and infuses this with
the profound sensuality that drips throughout French
cooking, fashion and luxury goods. French heroes are
compelled to rebel – and to do so in excessively and
unconventionally sensual ways. They are “enfants
terribles”, standing out from the crowd – and
standing up to those who would keep the human
spirit confined or repressed – through bad behaviour,
shocking speeches and alternative viewpoints.
Gérard Depardieu can emigrate to Russia to avoid
paying tax and remain a Hero. Serge Gainsbourg
embodied excess to the point of distaste; the
characters played by Jean-Paul Belmondo race down
a self-directed path of defiance and destruction.
These and others like them encapsulate the fusion of
the Hero with the subarchetype of the rebel in France.
Such self-destruction and excess do not feature
as characteristics of the German Hero. He or she
may challenge the establishment and even the
nature of order itself, but will do so with a sense
of conviction that others can relate to – and which
is itself inherently appealing and aspirational.
Whereas sensuality runs like a red line through the
expression of the archetype in France; it is replaced
in Germany by the drive towards perfection and
achievement. This can play out in sport and physical
activity (as with Boris Becker, Steffi Graf or Bastian
Schweinsteiger) but also within the mind, through
the challenging philosophy of a Nietzsche, Marx or
Schopenhauer, and towering cultural achievements
such as those of Beethoven. German heroes are on
a mission and they exude compelling confidence
that the mission will succeed.

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What does it take to be a Hero?
It is easy for brands to be fooled by apparent
similarities in French and German Heroes. From a
distance, the Berlin mode can look a lot like the
French anti-establishment tradition; the anarchy of
Herbst like the wild antics of a Gainsbourg; films such
as Run Lola Run can seem rather similar to Godard’s
A Bout de Souffle. Yet when crafting creative routes
around the expression of the Hero, marketers must be
aware of cultural nuances that mask deeply different
traditions. What can come across as magnetic
charisma in one country is pitiful self-indulgence in
another; and the peak of achievement on one side of
the border looks like a simple willingness to conform
when viewed from its neighbour.
It is easy for brands to
be fooled by apparent
similarities in French and
German Heroes.
Jean Paul Gaultier (left), Karl Marx (right)

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What does it take to be a Hero?
India versus China: Confronting the system –
or upholding the community
Analysts are fond of bunching together rapid-growth
markets in the form of handy nouns or acronyms:
BRIC, MINT or Chindia. A closer look at the expression
of the Hero archetype in India and China proves
just how dangerous this approach can be where
marketing is concerned. In fact, it’s harder to imagine
deeper and more instinctive cultural differences when
it comes to what the Hero stands for, and how he is
expected to behave.
In India, the Hero looks very similar to the sub-archetype
of the Outlaw. In a rigidly hierarchical
system where wealth and power appear out of
reach to most, it is extraordinary success against
overwhelming social odds that distinguishes a Hero
– and he or she is expected to have to fight and beat a
malfunctioning or corrupt system in order to achieve it.
Street smarts are celebrated, bending the rules winked
at as a natural response to the unfairness of life and
an affirmation that the lowly man or woman in the
street can, through assertiveness, take power from
those abusing it.
Using bribery to push through a driving license or
passport application is never treated with shock,
since it is “justified” by the barriers confronting
most Indians. They see their Outlaw-Hero instincts
projected onto the screen in the form of the
Bollywood characters played by Amitabh Bachchan
or Sanjay Dutt, who personified the Hero archetype
as the character Munnabhai, famously beating up a
doctor to ensure a patient receives medical attention.

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What does it take to be a Hero?
Such open confrontation of the system is likely to be
hugely counter-productive for a brand operating in
China. Here the end never justifies the means if that
means involves undermining others or the national
community as a whole.
Perseverance and going the distance to win within
the rules are key characteristics of the Hero archetype,
and this inherent bravery and determination is most
widely celebrated when it involves bringing larger,
non-Chinese rivals down to size and winning against
the odds. In the sports arena, the Olympic hurdler Liu
Xiang took on Hero status when winning at a sport
never before considered a Chinese strength; however,
he gave up some of this hard-won respect when he
later withdrew from a competition through injury.
Many fans felt that he should have toughed it out
and continued – even with little hope of winning and
at risk to himself. In the business world, the ascent
of Ali Baba or the resurrection of once-bankrupt,
state-owned Haier embody the Hero archetype:
inherently Chinese brands that have smashed western
competitors at their own game, such as Google, have
done so through classic rags-to-riches hard work.
Chinese brands that have smashed western competitors at
their own game, such as Google, have done so through classic
rags-to-riches hard work.

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What does it take to be a Hero?
Marketers cannot afford their brands to fall through
the wide divisions between the different expressions
of the archetype in these two countries: the idea
of effort overshadowing rewards is heroic in one
culture, but weak-willed in another; selfishness may
be celebrated, or may wholly undermine Hero status
depending on which market you are operating in. But
if these shifts in emphasis feel difficult to negotiate,
there are plenty of examples of brands that have been
able to do so successfully. Nike is hugely recognisable
as a Hero brand in both countries, yet its creative
themes are subtly different.
The idea of effort
overshadowing rewards is
heroic in one culture, but weak-willed
in another; selfishness
may be celebrated, or may
wholly undermine Hero status
depending on which market you
are operating in.
A Nike ad in China showed Liu Xiang smashing
through barriers representing lazy western
stereotypes about Asian people and culture: a
determined human battering ram and embodiment
of national pride.
In India, arguably the most famous Nike ad of all
shows street smart youngsters rising above the chaos
of Indian traffic when they decide to start a cricket
game on the roofs of stationary buses: a joyous
subversion of the rules that’s celebrated by the
Indian cricket team who just happen to be passing.
Alongside the Hero
The archetypes that map closely to emotional need-states
The hero The ruler The sage The caregiver The regular guy The lover

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What does it take to be a Hero?
Watching for the evolution of archetypes
Because the roots of the Hero’s different cultural
expressions go back a long way, it can be tempting
to see them as rigid and unchanging. The reality is
very different. The expression of archetypes constantly
evolves, emphasising different aspects at different
times although never breaking completely from the
tradition. In China, the bad-boy blogger Han Han is the
Hero spokesperson for footwear brand, VANCL, boldly
declaring that he represents nobody but himself. In
his courage to think independently, he reflects a new
dimension of the traditional Chinese version of the
archetype – although it is noticeable that there is no
sense of defying a corrupt system, or getting one over
on others in order for Han Han to get ahead.
Other versions of the Hero have evolved too – and
they will continue to do so. British heroes have
become increasingly counter-cultural over time; the
everyman nature of American heroism was hugely
reinforced following the attacks on the Twin Towers;
whilst German culture has put far greater emphasis
on finely tuned minds questioning authority in the
second half of the 20th century.
For brands, the key to mastering such a rich and
powerful archetype lies not just in understanding
how it is expressed at one point in time; but how
that expression has evolved – and the direction it
might take in the future. Anticipating these subtle
shifts can hold the key to owning the Hero space.
The expression of
archetypes constantly
evolves, emphasising
different aspects at
different times although
never breaking completely
from the tradition.

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What does it take to be a Hero?
About Intelligence Applied
Intelligence Applied is the home of the latest thinking from TNS, where we discuss the issues impacting
our clients, explore what makes people tick and spotlight how these insights can create opportunities for
business growth.
About TNS
TNS advises clients on specific growth strategies around new market entry, innovation, brand switching and
customer and employee relationships, based on long-established expertise and market-leading solutions. With
a presence in over 80 countries, TNS has more conversations with the world’s consumers than anyone else and
understands individual human behaviours and attitudes across every cultural, economic and political region of
the world.
Please visit www.tnsglobal.com/intelligence for more information
TNS is part of Kantar, the data investment management division of WPP and one of the world’s largest insight,
information and consultancy groups.
Please visit www.tnsglobal.com for more information.
Get in touch
If you would like to talk to us about anything you have read in this report, please get in touch via
enquiries@tnsglobal.com or via Twitter @tns_global
About the author
Anjali Puri heads the Centre of
Excellence for TNS Qualitative, where
she is responsible for leading new
thinking, developing our qualitative
offer and providing clients with cross-cultural insight.
Irene Hubertz is Global Director of
Brand Strategy, and plays a key role
in developing and applying TNS’s
NeedScope framework to analyse
brands and support clients in managing and
developing brands.
To find out more about developing brand
strategies in different markets, contact Anjali or
Irene at Anjali.Puri@tnsglobal.com or
Irene.Hubertz@tnsglobal.com
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